The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened up a new disaster recovery center in the south suburbs as the deadline approaches for those interested in applying for assistance related to the late June and early July flooding.
A month after a summer deluge caused significant flood damage all across Cook and other counties, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for the area. FEMA set up shop Monday at Thornton Township High School, 150th Street and Broadway Avenue in Harvey, where people seeking financial assistance due to flood damage can register and speak with FEMA representatives.
“This is one of the largest disasters in the country at the moment,” said FEMA spokesperson Darrell Habisch. “We absolutely encourage (people) to register for FEMA.”
The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Oct. 30. For those who cannot make it to the Harvey center, there are other resource centers including Maywood, Garfield Park and Cicero. Individuals can also apply through the FEMA app, by phone at 800-621-3362, and online by going to DisasterAssistance.gov.
Habisch says FEMA strongly encourages everyone even mildly affected to apply because people will not be able to ask for assistance if they have not applied by Oct. 30. The deadline to receive funding through the Small Business Association has the same deadline of end of the business day on Oct. 30.
The Oct. 30 deadline is not a full stop for FEMA funds. For those who have applied and believe FEMA did not award sufficient funds, they can appeals even past the deadline.
“Don’t let language be a barrier,” Habisch said, explaining there are multiple forms of accommodations including multi-language assistance, assistance for the hearing impaired and assistance for the sight impaired who are interested in applying.
He also underscored that FEMA representatives are not interested in the citizenship status of individuals and an application only requires one Social Security number per household. For those with insurance, FEMA funds can be obtained to help finance additional needed upgrades that insurance doesn’t cover.
However, FEMA will not fund nonemergency adjustments, such as redoing a resident’s “man cave,” Habisch explained. FEMA money is intended to go toward things like replacing a furnace that was flooded but is of utmost importance as residents prepare for winter, he said.
To make matters worse for many communities, a second flood rain rolled through several south suburban communities, including Harvey, Calumet City and Dolton, Sept. 17. Residents of these areas cannot receive FEMA funds for damages caused by the September flooding.
But Cook County leaders say help is on the way for September flood victims. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a disaster proclamation Oct. 4 to help the those suburbs with the September damage. This money may not come as quickly as there are thousands of potentially eligible residents and several steps need to take place.
“We are continuing the process of collecting damage information and we know that thousands of residents across the south suburbs sustained damage in this storm,” Natalia Derevyanny, a communications leader for the Cook County Bureau of Administration, wrote in an email.
Habisch said Thornton Township High School was chosen to be a resource center for this final week of applications for the earlier flooding because an analysis shows this is where need is still high.
FEMA has distributed $238 million to residents for the June and July flooding while the Small Business Administration has provided another $71 million.
